Facebook Touts Its ‘Economic Impact’ but Economists Question Numbers

Facebook has more than a billion users and generated an estimated $12 billion in revenue last year. But the company says its economic impact is far greater.

A report commissioned by Facebook concludes that the social network was responsible for $227 billion in global economic impact, and 4.5 million jobs, in the year ended October 2014, roughly equal to the gross domestic product of Portugal. The report was prepared by the consulting firm Deloitte.

Independent economists said Deloitte and Facebook used questionable assumptions in the report, valuing each Facebook “Like,” and assigning Facebook credit for roughly one-sixth of smartphone sales.